Global cannabis software and point of sales solutions company Guardian Data Software (GDS) has announced a partnership with Australian medical cannabis accelerator BuddingTech that will see the organisation act as an analytical engine and business consultancy for GDS clients, while working towards new research initiatives.

BuddingTech, a Sydney-based organisation which emerged in 2015, identifies startups working with cannabis technology and research, and looks to support them towards commercialising their ideas for the Asia Pacific medical cannabis market.

Under the new agreement, which was penned at Israeli cannabis innovation conference, CannaTech Israel, GDS clients will be able to leverage the startup’s analytical research and consultancy services, allowing the company to expand its service offerings.

The companies will also work together to launch new educational and research programs regarding botanical and medical cannabis, as well as look into identifying new areas where they can acquire industry data to empower their ability to serve cannabis businesses, in addition to the financial and government sectors.

Guardian Data Software’s CEO, Lance Ott, described the partnership as a “win-win” for both companies, saying BuddingTech will also benefit from leveraging GDS’ wide framework of data to improve the accuracy and detail of its analytics and reports.

“With medical cannabis sales projected to grow from $4.7 billion in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2020, we believe BuddingTech has a great deal to offer our customers who are hungry for data and additional business support,” he said.

Ott added that GDS looked to BuddingTech as a “logical” partner as both companies have achieved an international market presence, each growing within Europe, Israel and other regions outside of the US.

As for Australia, BuddingTech CEO Adam Miller said the country is “uniquely positioned” to become a leader in botanical and medical cannabis research.

“Within less than two years, the Australian government has developed a federal framework to support the domestic cultivation and manufacturing of medical cannabis. Australia is now uniquely positioned to become a leader in the field of botanical and medical research; data will play a vital role to support the developing industry,” he said.

Since October last year, the use of medical cannabis for patients with chronic or painful illnesses became legal under the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act, with the drug being supplied through both a Victorian cultivation site and import into Australia on a case-by-case basis.

While local cultivation looks to increase to meet medical demand, a new scheme recently approved by the Federal Government aims to improve accessibility by fast tracking importation from overseas sources.

While the government works on a temporary accessibility solution, the startup sector has looked towards navigating the regulatory, technological and logistical frameworks surrounding medical cannabis.

Last year saw the University of Sydney host Australia’s first ever pitch event for innovative medical cannabis technology, dubbed ‘Seedlings’, to support startups working with medical cannabis tech. The event, moderated by BuddingTech, looked at identifying startups addressing issues in the area of education, patient interaction, and clinical research.